. . . to be commended is the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. Central to the Center, writes the director, Michael Root of the Catholic University of America (and First Things writer ), has always been a commitment to a thick ecumenism, an ecumenical outlook based on the conviction that common reflection on the basis of the great christological and trinitarian tradition the churches share should be at the heart of ecumenism.

The centerfounded by the Lutheran patriarchs Robert Jenson and Carl Braaten in 1991rejects both a reduction to a lowest common denominator or a retreat into an enclave theology, concerned only with its own confessional standards. Interesting theology, theology that serves both the Church and the Christian life, comes out of such an encounter with the density of the tradition. At a time when ecumenism is lagging, a commitment to the fundamental theological work is essential.

The center publishes the very good journal Pro Ecclesia (for which the editor has written) and a new book series called Pro Ecclesia Books, the first volume of which is The Morally Divided Body: Ethical Disagreement and the Disunity of the Church .

Among the speakers will be Paul Griffiths, Ralph Wood, and David Yeago.